Bristol Airport’s plans to apply early in 2026 to expand to 15 million passengers per year have been dealt a blow by the Parliamentary cross -party Environment Audit Committee report out today.
The EAC report entitled ‘Airport Expansion and Climate and Nature Targets’ casts doubt on whether airport expansion will actually bring economic growth. – particularly as the Government did not provide any evidence of levels of economic benefit from airport expansion to the committee. The report said ‘the Government has not demonstrated that the economic growth from airport expansion provides enough benefit to outweigh the negative climate and environmental impacts it will lead to.’
Local campaigner Mary Collett from BAAN (Bristol Airport Action Network) said:
‘This report from the EAC is really important. It is quite ironic that their first recommendation is that the government should actually quantify whether expansion DOES bring any economic growth. The last Bristol Airport expansion was allowed, despite huge local opposition, largely because the Inspectors thought that the economic gain would outweigh the environmental harm. BAAN have been saying for some time that the evidence from Bristol Airport’s previous expansions does not show any real economic benefit. Bristol Airport has previously wildly over-estimated future jobs and economic gain but sadly we’re all well aware of the harms that expansion brings in terms of more air pollution, more noise and more traffic. In the survey BAAN recently carried out, 84% of people living near the airport said they felt no economic benefit at all from living close to the airport.’
The MP’s report sets out further recommendations for the Government to implement which include:
imposing air quality limits for areas surrounding airports covering all key air pollutants (such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter) so that any airport expansion is accompanied by measures to ensure there are no net increase in air pollution caused by expansion plans.
minimising the impacts of noise pollution on those who live under and around flight paths and include a target on the level of acceptable noise from flights both individually and cumulatively.
conducting a wider review of aviation taxation to ensure that the ‘polluter pays’ principle is upheld, and the aviation industry does not continue to receive benefits which are denied to other important industries.
Stephen Clarke, one of the organisers of a national group against airport expansion said: ‘NoAirportExpansion.org is a coalition of airport campaigners calling for a three year moratorium on airport expansion. We don’t believe that.expansion of the aviation industry can possibly be compatible with the UK’s legal commitment to reach net zero by 2050. The EAC report highlights that aviation is “artificially cheap” because it doesn’t pay for its carbon emissions through a direct carbon tax or even pay VAT on their fuel. Anyone with a car has paid more VAT on their fuel than Easyjet or any of the other major airlines has ever paid – how is that fair? The committee is also recommending that the government should conduct a wider review of aviation taxation to ensure that the ‘polluter pays’ principle is upheld. So people who fly a lot more should pay a lot more. A final, and really important recommendation is that the Government should set out how cumulative impacts from all current UK airports and future airport expansion should be accounted for in the planning process; at the moment they are considered in isolation. This would mean that any further expansion of Bristol Airport has to be considered alongside other applications from airports to expand.
Heidi Alexander (Sec of State for Transport) reaffirmed Labour’s commitments to the ‘Four Tests’ for airport expansion on Wednesday in Parliament when she said:
‘… in carrying out this review [of the Airports National Policy Statement], we will consider how any proposed scheme must meet four clear tests: that it contributes to economic growth across the country; that it meets our air quality obligations; that it is consistent with our noise commitments; and, crucially, that it aligns with our legal obligations on climate change, including net zero.’
It’s hard to see how those tests can be made to fit with the 250,000 extra flights from the Heathrow expansion plans or the 100,000 extra from Gatwick expansion plans, let alone other regional airport expansions and an almost 50% increase from the present size at Bristol Airport.
EAC report casts doubt on economic benefit of airport expansion
